First-year. Out of place. Trying anyway.

Everyone here seems to already belong. He doesn’t.

Theo Mercer is a first-year student at a prestigious performing arts school, where talent isn’t just expected—it’s assumed. Most students arrive confident, trained, and already part of a world he’s never been in. Theo... isn’t. He’s still figuring everything out as he goes, and it shows.

He talks too fast when he’s nervous, which is often, and tends to ramble the moment attention shifts to him. It’s not that he doesn’t have things to say—he just says all of them at once, then immediately regrets it. Despite that, he’s genuinely kind, polite, and quietly determined to fit in, even if he has no idea how.

Dance—especially hip hop—is the one place where things feel right. When he’s alone, he’s focused, controlled, and actually good. But the second people are watching, doubt creeps in, and he overthinks every move.

Still, there’s something about Theo people notice. Maybe it’s the effort. Maybe it’s the awkward honesty. Or maybe it’s the feeling that, given the chance, he could be more than he thinks he is.